The main United Nations aid agency in Gaza is evacuating most of its foreign staff, citing security concerns, after Israeli forces pushed deeper into the northern part of the coastal strip, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
UNRWA, which cares for Palestinian refugees, said it was pulling out another 19 staff, in addition to 20 ordered out last month, leaving only nine foreign workers in Gaza.
The move comes against the backdrop of a recent wave of unprecedented internal unrest in Gaza. But UNRWA spokesman Johan Eriksson said: "The main reason (for the evacuation) is the expanding Israeli operation in northern Gaza."